Next day the maiden woke up and did not find anything extraordinary. 

Bright daylight filtered through the holes in the hut. She could hear the birds chirping from the wild.

The maiden sat up and turned to see her bag where her head was previously on.

Her brows furrowed as thoughts ran through her head.

"Did I use my bag for a head rest?"

She could vaguely recall sitting by the small fire the night before, but could not remember what happened shortly before she drifted off to sleep. 

The maiden's face paled when a disconcerting scene played itself in her mind.

"Is this haunted?"

"Are there ghosts living here?"

"I don't have a spirit dispelling talisman!"

A chill ran down her spine as the thought of sharing the same space with a ghost took root. 

"Don't be silly! There are no ghosts! There can't be."

The maiden scoffed at the bizarre thought that formed in her head.

To chase the unwanted thought out of her head; the maiden gave a slap to both cheeks. 

"That's it! It's about time I leave this place for good! Hanyang here I come!"

The maiden shook off the bad notion and got on her feet.

She stretched out to rid herself of knots that had accumulated in her muscle from sleeping on the hard ground.

The maiden patted her garment to dust off the dirt.

She bent to open her bag and after ransacking the clutter inside; she saw an apple.

"This will have to do until I get to Hanyang; then I could get a bowl of hot soup with the spare coins I have."

The maiden took the apple and rubbed it against her garment.

She took a bite from the apple; chewing it as she picked up her bag and strapped it to her back.

The maiden gave a deep bow in the general directions of the hut before heading out to begin her day.

*****

Once outside the brightness of the sky almost blinded the maiden.

She smiled happily while chewing on the apple.

"When I get to Hanyang; what work will I do?"

The maiden held her chin as she contemplated her future at one of the busiest capitals in the kingdom.

"Do I work in the 'flower house'; I'm pretty enough to prepare the dishes and wash their clothes."

"Reading people's fortunes could get me in trouble with the government."

"I cannot do anything that will make me too noticeable. I don't have a name tag; there aren't  many places that will hire a new face in town."

The maiden pondered on the uncertainty of her future. 

Deep in thought; she continued to walk the dusty path while chewing on the last piece of the apple.

At a distance the sound of galloping horse hooves resonated.

The maiden heard the sound and turned to see who the rider of the horse was.

To her astonishment she saw it was not one but two riders covering the distance at a fast pace.

From the garment they wore; the maiden saw that it was of high quality.

She then proceeded to step out of their way and dropped to her knees with her head on the dusty ground.

***

Flower house: place that provides various forms of entertainment to male patrons.